Khiri and the Khirsung Saga: A Legend of the Shards
An enduring legend said to have took place in 5995 BDR. A tale of mythic proportions that details Khiri, her influences on the beastfolk of the Shards, and acts as a cultural pillar for which the Khiravi built their alliance on top of.
In the frozen expanse of the Shards, where the land glitters with eternal frost and danger lurks in every shadow, the beastfolk tribes found unity and guidance through Khiri, a powerful spirit of the wild. Khiri, revered as both a patron deity and emissary, embodied the heart of tribal life: the warmth of the hearth, the art of craftsmanship, the precision of the hunt, and the balance of bounty. Her presence among the tribes was a source of strength and identity, binding the scattered clans into a cohesive cultural force.The greatest threat to this fragile unity was Froskfoden, an ancient behemoth whose icy dominion loomed over the Shards. This monstrous force of nature brought devastation to the tribes, testing their resolve and survival. Seeing the despair of her people, Khiri devised a plan—a perilous quest that would not only challenge the tribes’ courage and skill but also forge their unity into an unbreakable weapon against their foe.
Khiri revealed her vision: to slay Froskfoden, the tribes must first vanquish his five great children, powerful beasts that roamed the Shards, each embodying an aspect of their mother’s might. These creatures were guardians of her strength, and only by defeating them could the tribes gather the power necessary to strike the final blow against the behemoth. As the tribes set to work to follow through with the questing, Khiri dissappeared on a voyage back into the elemental realm she came from, a long voyage that would take years, in which she would prepare herself with the neccessary power to stand with her chosen people in this fated standoff.
The quest and Khiri's voyage would span five years, each year dedicated to the slaying of one of Froskfoden’s progeny. After every victory, the tribes would craft a magical artifact from the remains of the beast—a relic imbued with its unique essence. These artifacts would serve as both tools and symbols of their progress, anchoring their success to their collective spirit.
Multiple heroes from various beastfolk tribes answered the call, forming a coalition of warriors, crafters, and hunters. Their exploits became the foundation of a grand saga, later chronicled in the Khirsung Saga, a collection of tales detailing their trials, triumphs, and sacrifices. Each chapter celebrated the strength and ingenuity of the tribes, as well as the enduring guidance of Khiri.
The Khirsung Saga remains a cornerstone of Shard folklore, a tale of resilience, unity, and the enduring bond between the beastfolk and their guiding spirit. It is a reminder that even in the harshest of lands, the power of community and shared purpose can turn the tide against even the most formidable of threats.
First Volume: The Hunt for Fjellvann (Mountain Water)
Read MeDescription: Fjellvann was a massive, amphibious serpent that resided in a glacial lake at the foot of a mountain. Its body was covered in translucent scales that shimmered like frozen water, and it could manipulate the currents of rivers and lakes to trap prey or create deadly whirlpools.
Quest: The tribes had to lure Fjellvann out of its aquatic domain, where it was nearly invincible. This required creating a false spring melt by melting glacial ice upstream and using bait crafted from rare fish found only in a distant frozen bay. The hunters worked tirelessly to remain unseen, using decoys and shadows to manipulate the serpent’s movements. Patience and subtlety were critical to drawing it into a narrow gorge, where they could ambush it with harpoons.
Artifact: The Mirror Scales
A shimmering cloak woven from Fjellvann's translucent scales, this artifact could bend light and make its wearer nearly invisible in icy terrain. It also allowed the user to manipulate water slightly, redirecting streams or creating barriers.
Power Against Froskfoden: The invisibility granted by the Mirror Scales was crucial for stealth and reconnaissance, as well as setting traps for the behemoth.
Quest: The tribes had to lure Fjellvann out of its aquatic domain, where it was nearly invincible. This required creating a false spring melt by melting glacial ice upstream and using bait crafted from rare fish found only in a distant frozen bay. The hunters worked tirelessly to remain unseen, using decoys and shadows to manipulate the serpent’s movements. Patience and subtlety were critical to drawing it into a narrow gorge, where they could ambush it with harpoons.
Artifact: The Mirror Scales
A shimmering cloak woven from Fjellvann's translucent scales, this artifact could bend light and make its wearer nearly invisible in icy terrain. It also allowed the user to manipulate water slightly, redirecting streams or creating barriers.
Power Against Froskfoden: The invisibility granted by the Mirror Scales was crucial for stealth and reconnaissance, as well as setting traps for the behemoth.
Second Volume: The Hunt for Isbrand (Ice Sword)
Read MeDescription: Isbrand was a fearsome wolf-like creature with crystalline fur that reflected moonlight, giving it a blade-like appearance. Known for its incredible speed and razor-sharp claws, it roamed the tundra, leaving behind trails of frost that could freeze anything in its path.
Quest: Isbrand was a creature of unrelenting speed and aggression, making a head-on fight nearly impossible. The tribes had to construct an elaborate series of traps, using reflective ice to confuse and misdirect the beast. A clever strategy of diversion and misdirection allowed the hunters to isolate and corner Isbrand, eventually bringing it down with nets and spears tipped with heated metal.
Artifact: The Frostfang Spear
Forged from Isbrand’s claws, this spear could freeze targets upon impact and imbue its wielder with temporary bursts of incredible speed.
Power Against Froskfoden: The Frostfang Spear’s freezing ability was pivotal for slowing Froskfoden’s movements and targeting its weakest points.
Quest: Isbrand was a creature of unrelenting speed and aggression, making a head-on fight nearly impossible. The tribes had to construct an elaborate series of traps, using reflective ice to confuse and misdirect the beast. A clever strategy of diversion and misdirection allowed the hunters to isolate and corner Isbrand, eventually bringing it down with nets and spears tipped with heated metal.
Artifact: The Frostfang Spear
Forged from Isbrand’s claws, this spear could freeze targets upon impact and imbue its wielder with temporary bursts of incredible speed.
Power Against Froskfoden: The Frostfang Spear’s freezing ability was pivotal for slowing Froskfoden’s movements and targeting its weakest points.
Third Volume: The Hunt for Skarfjell (Cloud Claws)
Read MeDescription: Skarfjell was an enormous, bear-like creature with rocky hide and icy breath that could create deadly avalanches. It dwelled in the high peaks and was a master of blending with the rocky cliffs.
Quest: To defeat Skarfjell, the tribes needed to scale its treacherous mountain domain and exploit its tendency to attack anything that approached its territory. The hunters crafted false effigies of themselves to draw the beast into a prepared ravine filled with explosive alchemical compounds derived from frostbitten roots. The final blow was struck using teamwork and precision strikes as the beast faltered.
Artifact: The Avalanche Horn
Carved from Skyfjell’s horns, this instrument could summon localized tremors or snowstorms when blown. It also imbued the user with incredible physical resilience.
Power Against Froskfoden: The Avalanche Horn’s ability to control terrain gave the tribes the upper hand in shifting battles to their favor.
Quest: To defeat Skarfjell, the tribes needed to scale its treacherous mountain domain and exploit its tendency to attack anything that approached its territory. The hunters crafted false effigies of themselves to draw the beast into a prepared ravine filled with explosive alchemical compounds derived from frostbitten roots. The final blow was struck using teamwork and precision strikes as the beast faltered.
Artifact: The Avalanche Horn
Carved from Skyfjell’s horns, this instrument could summon localized tremors or snowstorms when blown. It also imbued the user with incredible physical resilience.
Power Against Froskfoden: The Avalanche Horn’s ability to control terrain gave the tribes the upper hand in shifting battles to their favor.
Fourth Volume: The Hunt for Frostjor (Frozen Sea)
Read MeDescription: Frostjor was a leviathan-like whale covered in jagged icicles, capable of causing immense tidal waves and storms. It lived beneath the ice flows of the northern seas, breaking through to hunt.
Quest: The tribes crafted large, floating platforms that could remain stable on breaking ice and rigged them with harpoons laced with special poisons made from arctic plants. They had to coordinate their efforts perfectly, timing their strikes with Frostjor's breaches and enduring its relentless assaults to weaken it over time. The final blow came with a harpoon driven into its vulnerable underbelly.
Artifact: The Tidal Crown
A circlet of ice and bone from Frostjor, this artifact allowed its wearer to calm storms or control small portions of the ocean. It also provided resistance to cold and drowning.
Power Against Froskfoden: Froskfoden, whenever she breathed or bellowed, could freeze entire villages with the galeforce of a harsh snowstorm. The Tidal Crown ensured the tribes could safely navigate treacherous waters and disrupt Froskfoden’s control over icy winds.
Quest: The tribes crafted large, floating platforms that could remain stable on breaking ice and rigged them with harpoons laced with special poisons made from arctic plants. They had to coordinate their efforts perfectly, timing their strikes with Frostjor's breaches and enduring its relentless assaults to weaken it over time. The final blow came with a harpoon driven into its vulnerable underbelly.
Artifact: The Tidal Crown
A circlet of ice and bone from Frostjor, this artifact allowed its wearer to calm storms or control small portions of the ocean. It also provided resistance to cold and drowning.
Power Against Froskfoden: Froskfoden, whenever she breathed or bellowed, could freeze entire villages with the galeforce of a harsh snowstorm. The Tidal Crown ensured the tribes could safely navigate treacherous waters and disrupt Froskfoden’s control over icy winds.
Fifth Volume: The Hunt for Vintergløm (Winter’s Gloom)
Read MeDescription: Vintergløm was a giant raven-like creature with feathers of frost and shadow. It brought unnatural blizzards and darkness wherever it flew, disorienting its prey before striking with its sharp talons and icy winds.
Quest: The tribes faced Vintergløm in a frozen forest, where its ability to blend with the shadows made it nearly impossible to locate. They created a series of massive bonfires with smoke designed to disrupt its vision and force it into a clearing. There, they used reflective shields to dazzle the beast and drive it into a net of enchanted chains.
Artifact: The Shadow Lantern
Created from Vintergløm’s feathers and eyes, this lantern emitted light that could pierce even the darkest blizzards and dispel illusions. It also granted the user the ability to track unseen enemies.
Power Against Froskfoden: The Shadow Lantern ensured the tribes could always see clearly, even in the oppressive storms Froskfoden might create, and dispell the dark accursed energies that she used to dismantle the courage and will of oppossing tribespeople.
Quest: The tribes faced Vintergløm in a frozen forest, where its ability to blend with the shadows made it nearly impossible to locate. They created a series of massive bonfires with smoke designed to disrupt its vision and force it into a clearing. There, they used reflective shields to dazzle the beast and drive it into a net of enchanted chains.
Artifact: The Shadow Lantern
Created from Vintergløm’s feathers and eyes, this lantern emitted light that could pierce even the darkest blizzards and dispel illusions. It also granted the user the ability to track unseen enemies.
Power Against Froskfoden: The Shadow Lantern ensured the tribes could always see clearly, even in the oppressive storms Froskfoden might create, and dispell the dark accursed energies that she used to dismantle the courage and will of oppossing tribespeople.
Sixth Volume: The Hunt for Froskfoden
Read MeWhen the final beast fell and the fifth artifact was forged, Khiri returned, her presence radiant and commanding. With the tribes now bound together through their shared struggle and armed with the artifacts of their victories, Khiri revealed the final steps in their quest. Guided by her wisdom and bolstered by their collective strength, the tribes prepared to face Froskfoden, their unity and faith in Khiri ensuring that even the mightiest foe could be overcome.
Froskfoden burst forth from beneath the frozen waves, and the warriors shielded themselves from this wall of water, saving them all from being wiped off the face of the land. Froskfoden took a heavy breath, and from her mighty maw the size of a ravine came a mist that enveloped all. The tribe dispelled the area around the battlefield, staring eye to eye with their ancestral foe without fear. Froskfoden called to them, told them of their downfall with a single bone rattling call, a roar that sounded like the deepest fathoms, a call that ripped the very soul from the body. The gentle lavender light of their lantern shown over them all, a strange but stalwart comfort that protected them from losing themselves to despair and dying from being just in the presence of Froskfoden. Angered that they did not stand down or die, Froskfoden began to trample towards the warriors and Khiri. Shamans chanted and the great horn was played, causing the ground underneath Froskfoden to give way, getting her stuck in place there. Hidden in plain sight, Khiri and her most trusted spear throwing soldiers emerged. With the might and determination of their whole tribes, the warriors let loose their spears, including their one mighty ice spear, the likes of which struck Froskfoden, piercing her hide like no other weapon had, delivering a wound that injured and hindered the great beast further. Khiri had been bought enough time to pull back a mighty bow, arrow charged with all the energy she could muster, before letting it fly true into the sky, dissappearring into the sky. Light burst from beyond the clouds, and from the heavens fell a giant javelin that pierec Froskfoden, skewering the great beast to the ground and ending her life. The tribes and Khiri had done it, Froskfoden, the bringer of end times, had been felled.
Froskfoden burst forth from beneath the frozen waves, and the warriors shielded themselves from this wall of water, saving them all from being wiped off the face of the land. Froskfoden took a heavy breath, and from her mighty maw the size of a ravine came a mist that enveloped all. The tribe dispelled the area around the battlefield, staring eye to eye with their ancestral foe without fear. Froskfoden called to them, told them of their downfall with a single bone rattling call, a roar that sounded like the deepest fathoms, a call that ripped the very soul from the body. The gentle lavender light of their lantern shown over them all, a strange but stalwart comfort that protected them from losing themselves to despair and dying from being just in the presence of Froskfoden. Angered that they did not stand down or die, Froskfoden began to trample towards the warriors and Khiri. Shamans chanted and the great horn was played, causing the ground underneath Froskfoden to give way, getting her stuck in place there. Hidden in plain sight, Khiri and her most trusted spear throwing soldiers emerged. With the might and determination of their whole tribes, the warriors let loose their spears, including their one mighty ice spear, the likes of which struck Froskfoden, piercing her hide like no other weapon had, delivering a wound that injured and hindered the great beast further. Khiri had been bought enough time to pull back a mighty bow, arrow charged with all the energy she could muster, before letting it fly true into the sky, dissappearring into the sky. Light burst from beyond the clouds, and from the heavens fell a giant javelin that pierec Froskfoden, skewering the great beast to the ground and ending her life. The tribes and Khiri had done it, Froskfoden, the bringer of end times, had been felled.
Date Submitted
November 15, 2024
Contributors
Foxhound99
November 15, 2024
Contributors
Foxhound99